The presence of hydroquinone, and mercury in skin toning creams, as well as lead in turmeric powder, pose potential health risks to Bangladeshi women (original) (raw)

Bioresearch Communications

Skin toning creams and turmeric powders are widely used among Bangladeshi fashion and beauty concerned women and young girls in general. However, it has been reported that excessive use of skin toning cream and turmeric powder can cause various dermatological problems, including skin cancer. These creams and turmeric powder contain a wide variety of active ingredients, including Hydroquinone (HQ), Mercury (Hg), and Lead (Pb), that are toxic, and hazardous to health, especially after prolonged application. As a result, in the current study, we tried to assess HQ and Hg level in commonly used skin toning creams and Pb in turmeric powder in the context of Bangladeshi women collected from the local markets in Dhaka city. HQ, Hg, and Pb levels were analyzed for 40 different Bangladeshi skin toning cream products and 40 different turmeric powder samples. The HQ level was determined by the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, the Hg level was determined by Cold Vapor Atomi...